The growth of distributed energy resources (DER) is changing how electricity is delivered to end users around the world. Solar PV has become a valuable part of the global power generation mix and adoption is forecast to grow substantially in the next several years. Many residential energy customers are beginning to shift away from solely purchasing electricity from their local utilities to procuring a diverse suite of onsite technologies that includes solar PV and energy storage.

The rapid growth of distributed solar PV in recent years has helped drive the transformation of a grid system that is increasingly affected by DER. However, the value of standalone solar PV systems is contentiously debated throughout the US and in other grid regions. Energy storage coupled with solar PV can provide a diverse array of benefits that solar PV alone cannot. Because standalone solar PV systems only generate electricity when the sun is shining, these systems cannot provide the power services offered by other generation resources. Energy storage is a unique resource that can function as both generation and load to provide customer and grid operator benefits. Residential solar plus storage (RSPS) is thus beginning to become a viable solution for end users, and several companies are looking to capture early adopters to gain a strong foothold in the industry.

This Navigant Research Leaderboard examines the strategy and execution of 12 leading solar PV plus energy storage providers that are active in the residential market. These players are rated on 12 criteria: vision; go-to market strategy; partners; production strategy; technology; geographic reach; sales, marketing, and distribution; product performance; product quality and reliability; product portfolio; pricing; and staying power. Using Navigant Research's proprietary Leaderboard methodology, vendors are profiled, rated, and ranked with the goal of providing industry participants with an objective assessment of these companies' relative strengths and weaknesses in the global RSPS market.

Top 10 Vendors:

1. Sunrun

2. Tesla

3. Vivint Solar

4. E.ON

5. SunPower

6. Sunplug

7. Sunnova

8. Huawei

9. Soligent

10. ZEN Energy

Key Questions Addressed:

Which companies are the leaders in providing solar plus energy storage in the residential market?

What are the key metrics used to evaluate market performance in the residential solar plus storage (RSPS) industry?

How are customers responding to challenging and evolving RSPS market conditions?

Which market participants are in the best position for success in different geographic regions?